Empowering Folk dances for Rural Development in India

Dr.Mukul Srivastava
Lecturer
Sheel Nidhi Pandey
Research Scholar
Deptt. Of Journalism and Mass
Communication
University of Lucknow
Lucknow

Dialogue is the essence of any work in communication for development. Humans

communicate with one another in a variety of ways, including verbally, kinesthetically,
artistically, and literarily. Any examination of this context should first start with the
language of the people (in its broadest sense), followed by the social-cultural matrix in
which the media operate. This must be done in order to make sure that efforts aimed at
improving the lot of people in developing countries do not go to waste.

People living in remote areas of India to whom information is to be quickly imparted,

mass-media channels of sound and sight to hold glamour but often enough they mask the
message. Behavioral changes are most easily brought about by personal interaction and
traditional folk media which are personal form of communication, of entertainment.
These forms of art are part of the way of life of a community and provide acceptable
means of bringing development issue in to the community on its own terms. Traditional
folk media is a term used to denote “People’s performances”. It describes folk dance rural
drama and musical variety of the village people. This term speaks of those performing
arts, which are cultural symbols of a people. These performing arts pulsate with life and
slowly change through the flux of time.
By folk, we mean the common people, also referred to as villagers. But for purposes of
this paper we shall in addition, refer to them as the farming or rural community, simply
farmers. Media will be taken to mean the vehicle through which messages are carried
from one end (variously or specifically called source, speaker, writer, artist, musician, or
dancer), or another (receiver, target, listener, reader, or viewer). Folk media will therefore
refer to the vehicle the common people or rural farmers employ for the delivery of their
message. In line with these definitions arise such concepts as folk sculpture, folk music,
folk dance, or folk paintings. Specifically, what is being expressed here through this
terminology is the activity among the common people, although mindful of the
implications of crudeness, as a telling connotation behind the term folk ii

CONCEPT OF FOLK DANCES

There are many types of folk dances in India, from those, which are deeply religious in
content to those, which are danced on more trivial happy occasions. Classical dances of
India are usually always spiritual in content, although this is often true also of Folk
dances.
In essence in Indian context folk medium of dances having been exposed to these art
forms for centuries, they have become a part of their ethos .The languages and dialects
are their own .The familiarity of language, gestures, music and rhythm is what makes this
media universally acceptable among rural folks. In folk media there is contact between
the sender of the message and receiver .The contact is direct and personal .This personal
contact and the various factors of familiarity makes the message far more credible and
acceptable than if it were to be transmitted through the electronic media or the other
channels of media.

There is really no such genre as folk dancing. Rather, there is a large body of unrelated
non-classical dance forms. The only thing common among these dance forms is their
rural origins.

Ordinary people rather than professional dancers perform many folk dances. It is very
usual that on special occasions, the villagers will gather and sing and dance,
accompanying themselves on a variety of folk instruments. Such special occasions
include harvesting, planting, marriages and religious holidays.

Sometimes professionals perform the folk dances. There is the institution of the folk
theatre. Professional musicians, actors and dancers travel from village to village
performing their dance dramas. This seems to be a rural extension of the ancient
theatrical tradition found in the Natya Shastra. However, it appears to have degenerated
into a rural tradition. One example of the folk theatre is the Yaksha Gana of Karnataka.

It would be more correct to divide these folk dances into two categories: folk and tribal.
The difference between the two is cultural. Folk dances are the rural extensions of the
larger Indian population. Examples are the Bhangra and the Garba. However, India’s
native populations perform the tribal dances. These people, known as aadivasi, have a
culture which is very distinct from the larger Indian population. Attempting to relate
Indian tribal dances with Indian folk dances is very much like trying to relate the dances
of the Cherokee Indians to the "Cotton Eyed Joe". A common example of a tribal dance
is the Santhali.

Such compositions are meant to: warn, entertain or simply to inform.

 A song is often composed / created by one person who presents it to others. If
those listening to it like it, they join in the singing. Sometimes, they add other
stanzas onto the song.
 Another group that creates or composes songs and dances are the people who
create their songs in secret, but present them to the village on special occasions.
 Women often compose songs as they do various household chores like pounding
grain, washing clothes, cooking food, working in the garden and moulding clay
pots.
 Men also create songs and dances when they do chores like gardening, carving
handles, pestles and mortars, cooking spoons, making granaries and weaving
baskets and mats.
 Children often accompany adults and join in as songs are being created and sung.
It may be academically desirable to separate tribal from simple folk dances, however this
is generally not done. Artists do not concern themselves with these academic matters.
Therefore the following list does not make any distinctions.

LIST OF IMPORTANT FOLK AND TRIBAL DANCES

 Bathakamma
A folk dance of Andhra Pradesh.

 Bihu
Bihu is a folk dance from Assam. It is a very brisk and aggressive dance performed by
both boys and girls.

 Bagurumba
This is a folk dance from Assam. It is performed by the Bodos and is known for its
colourful attire.

 Bhangra
This is a folk dance from the Northwest Indian state of Punjab. It is a lively, powerful
dance.

 Chah Baganar Jumur Nach

This is a Dance from Assam. It is a dance of the tea gardens.

 Changu
The changu dance is a folk dance found in Odissa and Andhra Pradesh. It derives its
name from the changu, which is a simple tambourine (daf) that is used to accompany this
dance.

 Dandaria
A folk dance of Andhra Pradesh.

 Dasakathia
This is a folk theatre of Odissa. It is performed by a pair of performers who entertain the
audience with dance, songs, and stories

 Dhamal
A folk dance of Andhra Pradesh.

 Dumhal
Dumhal of Kashmir is a dance performed by the men folk of the Wattal tribe of Kashmir
on specific occasions. The performers wear long colourful robes, tall conical caps that are
studded with beads and shells. The party moves in a procession carrying a banner in a
very ceremonial fashion. It is dug into the ground and the men begin to dance, forming a
circle. The musical accompaniment comprises a drum and the vocal singing of the
participants. Dumhal is performed on set occasions and at set locations.

 Gair
This is a dance of Rajasthan. It is performed by groups of dancers moving in and out
with an almost military precision.

 Garba
This is a folk dance from Gujarat. It is traditionally danced at marriages and during the
time of Navaratri.

 Geendad
This is a folk dance of Rajasthan. It is very similar to the Gair.

 Ghoomar
This is a folk dance of Rajasthan. It derives its name from its characteristic pirouettes.

 Ghanta Patua
This is a folk dance of Odissa. Its name is derived from the large brass gongs known as
ghanta. It is performed in the Hindu month of Chaitra. This dance is most notable
because it is performed on stilts.

 Gendi
Gendi or stilt dancing is fairly common among Gond children of Madhya Pradesh. The
dance is popular in the Vindhyas and the Satpura ranges. This is danced in the rainy
season; from June to August. The dancer, who has the balance on the Gendi (stilts))
perform it even in water or on marshy surface. The dance is brisk, and ends with a dance
in pyramid formation. This is generally confined only to children and the attraction
consists in balancing and clever footwork

 Gobbi
A folk dance of Andhra Pradesh.

 Hikat
Hikat of Himachal Pradesh. This is danced by women, and is a modification of a game
played by children. Forming pairs, the participants extend their arms to the front gripping
each other's wrists and with the body inclined back, go round and round at the same spot.
With wide range and variety of the ethnic groups, Himachal Pradesh is blessed with
natural beauty and artistic history. People living in this natural beauty, adorn themselves
for the dance at all times of the year, in all regions, and continue to express themselves
through music and dance.

 Jhoomar
This is a dance of the Mundas and Mahantas of Odissa.
  Kacchhi Ghodhi
This is a folk dance of Rajasthan that is performed with a dummy horse.

 Kandhei
This is the puppet dance of Orissa.

 Kavadi
This is a folk dance of Tamil Nadu. Most of the devotees of Lord Muruga take to it as a
devotional offering to him. The Kavadi is an arched wood and cloth work decorated with
peacock feathers and the short wooden base rod held on the neck is swung round to dance
movements. Some professional experts display amazing feats of skill in it by balancing
and moving the kavadi and over the body and in various poses without the support to the
various tunes of kavadi chindu.

 Karagam
This is a folk dance of TamilNadu. It is played with a pot balanced on the head.It is
danced mostly for propitiating mariammam and other village deities to get rains and to
ward off epidemics.

 Kela Keluni
This is a dance performed by the Kelas of Odissa.

 Mathuri
A folk dance of Andhra Pradesh.

 Raas
This is a folk dance from Gujarat. It is traditionally danced at marriages and during the
time of Navaratri.
 Rouff
Rouff is also a folk dance of Kashmir. Solely women dance it on festive occasions. Rouff
displays simple footwork

 Sakhi Nata
This is the puppet dance of Orissa.

 Terahtali
This is a folk dance of Rajasthan. It is performed by women while they are seated.

 Therukoothu
This is a folk theatre from the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

 Yaksha Gana
This is a folk theatre from the south Indian state of Karnatika.For its subject matter it has
about fifty place based stories of the Ramayana and the Mahabharta .Most of the dramas
present the dilemmas and conflicts of war and the dancing itself is always vigorous and
masculine. There is a considerable comic element in which the spectators delight. This is
introduced by a clown who appears on the scene with the other dancers. The dance is
generally performed after harvest has been collected so the village audiences are in the
mood for light hearted buffoonery and merry making.

MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS USED TO ACCOMPANY FOLK DANCES

Bansuri - bamboo flute

Chimpta - fire tongs
Daf - frame drum
Dholak - barrel drum
Dholki - barrel drum
Dotar - simple lute
Ektar - simple lute
Gettuvadyam - hammered lute
Ghatam - clay pot
Ghungharu - small bells
Kartal - wooden clappers
Khol - clay drum
Magadi Vina - bamboo lute
Murchang - jaw harp
Naggada - Kettle drums
Nakula - bamboo lute
Pung - drum
Pungi - snake charmer's instrument
Rabab - lute
Santur - hammered dulcimer
Saringda - simple fiddle
Shankh - conch shell
Gopichand - one stringed instrument
Thanthi Panai - pot drum
Pena - simple one string bowed instrument
Damaru - hourglass drum
Idakka and Udaku - hourglass drums

ROLE OF MEDIA AND EXTENSION WORKERS

At this juncture, it is appropriate to relate this communication aspect of folk media to the
field or extension workers, whose activities in the villages mostly involve persuasion of
farmers into the adoption of new or different ways of life, often believed to be better than
the one they currently lead.
The purpose is to bring the extension workers into contact with the village community on
an equal footing so as to create an exchange process through which the extension workers
can learn first hand from the farmers how the latter use folk dance and folk song to
transmit messages. It was expected that at the end of the experiment both groups will
have been involved in the creation of songs and dances, which transmit messages on
health, agriculture and other such developmental issues.

For this process to succeed, it is necessary to assume that the participants will play their
roles in the traditional source-receiver communication model. Secondly, it is necessary to
accept that the rural people already have a communication system, which works
according to the said communication model. Thirdly, it has to be accepted that the
agricultural communication experts will be willing to accept the farmers as a source of
information and knowledge.

Communication experts must understand these by working with the rural community. In
that way, when they come to modernise or nationalise the message for purposes of
dissemination nation-wide, they will concentrate on using symbols and images that make
sense to the folk in the villages. Local trees, animals, landscape and weather will begin to
play a major part in the way messages are echoed and delivered.

For instance, when a child is born to a young mother there are customs that the mother
must know. These are imparted to her through talks, riddles and dance to name but some
of the media used. When women are pounding maize in mortars at home they sing songs
that speak about various experiences from their world. They sing about people and these
happenings just as much as they laugh at the foolishness of mankind.
When village elders come together to listen to complaints made by someone from the
village, they use proverbs and riddles to express themselves. Sometimes they will even tell
a folktale, which reinforces the point they want to make. In this way, wisdom is shared
and passed on from generation to generation.iii
REFERENCES:

1.www.thehoot.org
2.www.redfm.com
3.www.fao.org